Pioneering Academics in Social Sciences and Law 

The first female Lecturer in Law in Scotland was Christian Bisset (later Tudhope), appointed in 1939.  Her life and work was celebrated by the Dundee School of Law in March 2023 with a lecture given by Professor Pamela Ferguson, the first woman to be appointed to a Chair in Scots Law.

Christian Bisset was the first woman from Dundee to graduate with Bachelor of Law degree, and she was also the first woman law agent in Dundee, the first woman Depute Town Clerk, and the first woman to be appointed to the Scottish Association of NHS Executive Councils. She was awarded an OBE in 1965.*

The first female professor of the University of Dundee was Professor Elisabeth Mapstone, appointed in 1975.  She was a pioneer of social work and social care as Professor of Social Work.

The School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Law now commemorates her with the annual Mapstone lecture, the first of which was given in 2022 by Hilary Corrick, stepdaughter to Elspeth Mapstone.

*Thanks to Pamela Ferguson for information about Christian Bisset

Pioneering women of Dundee University

Caroline Brown, University Archivist, explores Dundee’s women in the archives in the video below.